Fish Hooks

A Hook Is A Hook Is A Hook, Right? Not So!

Enter any tackle shop and you will find an overwhelming selection of
fish hooks from which to choose. It will make your head spin around
360°. Remember the movie "Exorcist"? Jeez, what a scene that was!

Is this plethora (a fifty cent word meaning "a whole bunch") of
fish hook styles simply manufacturer marketing? Perhaps a little, but
much thought and testing has gone into the design of each shape and
style.

You'll find fishing hooks with straight shanks, offset shanks and
twisted shanks. There are wide-gap, octopus hooks and circle fishing
hooks. They come in thin wire, thick wire, weedless and wacky styles
just to name a few. Whew! How do you know which is for what purpose?

Well, they're all intended for one thing. We all know what that
is, to "hook a bass" by effectively penetrating their very tough mouths.
How each hook style accomplishes this is what makes one style more
effective than another with any given technique.

Let's look at the basics of fish hooks.

Anatomy of a Hook

Hook Point Styles

The point penetrates the bass' mouth and is manufactured in
numerous variations. The longer it is the longer it will take for
penetration. Most important is that the point is always sharp. So always
have a fish hook sharpener handy.

Thick wire fish hooks will not penetrate the tough cartilage of a
bass' mouth as well as a thinner wire hook. Furthermore, if the hook
has a large barb, penetration can be impeded resulting in a poor hook
set. Some companies are reducing barb size to what
is referred to as a mini-barb because of this.

There are numerous types of hook points. Some of the most common are:

Spear Point- The standard style. The point is in a straight line from the tip to the barb.

Hollow Point- A rounded point that forms a curve from
the tip to the base of the barb. Intended for soft mouth fish, not the
best for largemouth and smallmouth bass.

Rolled-In Point- The point is rolled in, that is,
aligned in a curve pointing toward the eye of the shank. This puts it
in line with the fishing line.The design is intended to reduce the
pressure needed to set the hook.

Needle Point- Exactly what it's name implies, a needle
point with evenly rounded sides. "Sticky sharp" out of the package but
vulnerable to suffering rolled tips if they contact hard surfaces.

Knife Edge- Type used primarily for big game fish. The inner surface of the barb is flattened while both sides are ground.

Surgical Needle - This is new on the bass fishing landscape. The shape mimics that commonly found on surgical suture needles.

Hook Barb

Most fish hook points incorporate a barb. This little piece of
steel, formed by cutting a notch in the shaft, holds bass on the hook
after penetration. The larger the barb the better it will function to
hold the bass on the hook but as stated earlier the
barb also has the potential of causing poor hook sets.

Catch and
release guys will sometimes flatten barbs with pliers or file them down.
Doing so makes for easier hook removal, especially if the bass has
swallowed the hook.

Hook Shank

The shank of a fish hook, the section between the eye and the
bend beginning the throat, is either straight or curved. Sometimes there
are "barbs" cut into the shank intended to keep soft baits on the hook.

There are regular, short and long shank styles in both straight and "offset" configurations.

Short shanks obviously reduce the size and weight of a fish
hook and consequently are often used for finesse applications. Fly
fishermen prefer these for their small body flies.

Regular shank lengths are used for a wide
variety of applications. This is an all purpose length used for many
bass fishing applications.

Long shank hooks are great for live bait and larger/longer artificials like plastic baits and spinnerbaits.

Curved and offset shanks, like what is found on "wide gap"
offset hook style shown above, are designed for specific
reasons. They accommodate larger, thicker artificial plastics . The
theory is that when a bass takes the lure the curved shank, by creating a
larger gap, allows for the lure to collapse and result in a more solid
hook up by not interfering with hook penetration.

The "wide gap" or "rounded" throat of the offset straight
shank shown above also works with larger, thicker
plastics to facilitate good hook sets.

Some anglers feel simple straight
shank hooks, like the one on the above,
increase hook sets over curved and offset shank styles. Why? It's
believed that on the hook-set a straight shank hook will "meander" in
the bass' mouth seeking a surface into which it can set.

With offset
shank hooks the point follows the eye
and if the bass hasn't closed its mouth all the way the hook may slip
through its lips if in the wrong position. Some feel this style hook may
also push the bass' mouth open causing a missed hook-set.

Offset shank hooks with their "Z" bend behind the eye are easy to
rig with soft plastic lures. Push the point around 1/4" into the bait's
head up to the hook bend then push out the point at a 90° angle. Turn
the bait on the hook shank and push the body of the plastic lure up and
over the Z bend and knot and you're ready to go.

Additionally, it is
quite easy rig the lure in a straight line doing this with an offset
hook whereas it is very difficult to do so with a straight shank hook.
Rigging soft plastics like lizards, worms, stickbaits and flukes
straight is very important if you want to avoid line twist and achieve
maximum action from artificial baits.

Hook Eye

The place where line is tied to the hook. If you're an old guy
like me it's also the source of much aggravation as the old "peepers"
aren't what they once were.

The "ringed" shape is the most common and is formed by bending the shaft
in a uniform loop that rests against the shank forming a circle. There
is also a "tapered" version of the "ringed" eye. It will taper from a
point of about 4:00 on the bended ring to the end where it touches the
shank. Though this is most often found on hooks designed for dry flies
though I've found it on hooks for bass like the Gamakatsu "shiner hook".

There are straight, turned up and turned down designs. With hooks
used in bass fishing the eye can be "straight", that is, "in line" with
the shank. Or, it may be "turned down", angled "forward" of the shank
toward the hook point. There are also hooks "turned up", with the shank
bent "away" from the point backward" from the point.

What's the purpose in doing this? Is there any advantage of one
style over the other? The theory, and I emphasize theory, behind these
three eye angles is this.

Turned up (away from the hook point)
eyes create more clearance between the shank and point which is
important with smaller hooks.

Eyes that are turned down (toward
the hook point) are said to provide better hook-sets because the hook
point and line are in a better angle to result in good penetration.

Straight
eyes result in the hook point and hook shank moving in the same
direction and on the same plane during hook-set. The straight eye seems a
"no brainer" as the best choice for bass fishing as far as I'm
concerned.

Hook Gap

This is the distance from the fish hook point to the shank. The
gap of a hook is very important to its ability to grab and hold a fish.
Small gaps are not as effective at this as are large gaps. Some anglers
will bend out the hook's gap 5-10 degrees thinking it will improve hook
ups. I figure the hook manufacturers knew what they were doing and I
leave well enough alone.

Unfortunately there is no uniform system for defining fish hook
measurements. So pay close attention when buying hooks from different
manufacturers. They're all different.

Hook Throat

This is the distance from a line drawn between the point and
shaft (apex of the bend) to the bottom of the fish hook's curve. This
distance is very important and must be deep enough for flesh and hard
cartilage to pass the barb.

A Size 34 Hook Is Smaller Than A Size 6 Hook? Wait A Minute!

Hook Sizing

What about fish hook sizes? I know it's confusing, but the larger the number of a hook, the smaller it's actual size.
Sizes begin at 32 and go to size 1 getting larger as they go, where
they then become 1/0 or "one aught" and progress upward in size to a
size 20/0 or "20 aught".

For smallmouth and largemouth bass fishing the most appropriate
sizes will be sizes 4, 2, 1, 1/0, 2/0, 3/0, 4/0, 5/0 and 6/0. Of
course, the size varies depending on the technique you're using and fish
hooks that are smaller or larger than this range are sometimes used.

Bear in mind that there is no industry "standard" as to fish hook
sizes so a 2/0 from one company may be larger or smaller than a 2/0
from another.

Popular Bass Fishing Hook Styles

Baitholder Hook - These hooks are designed primarily as "live
bait" hooks. They have barbs on a long shaft which serve to prevent
live bait from wiggling free. Bass fishermen use this hook in sizes 1/0
and 2/0 for minnows and shiners. Walleye fishermen will get bait hooks
as snells pre-tied with line and smaller 8 or 10 size hooks.

These come as small as size 14 and as large as 6/0.

Aberdeen Hook - Another hook that is used for live bait. These
are light wire hooks with a pronounced round, maybe even very slightly
squared, bend. They have a wide gap between the shank and point which
accommodates baiting minnows. Because they are light wire they do
little damage to live bait when placed on the hook. This prolongs lively
action.

Aberdeen fishing hooks used for bass are usually sizes 2 through 4/0.

Circle Hook - Long used in saltwater fishing and when
targeting catfish, pike and muskie, these are now becoming quite popular
with "catch and release" bass fishermen. It is another live bait fish
hook that when fished correctly will not result in bass swallowing the
bait and becoming "gut hooked".

These hooks are available in thin and thick wire models and are
generally found in sizes 1/0 through 8/0 in heavy wire and sizes 8
through 1 in the light wire version.

Octopus Hook - The name conjures up visions of a hook with
eight points but it has only one. Similar to a "circle hook" it features
a short shank and somewhat rounded shank that extends into it's bend,
though to a much lesser degree than a circle hook.

This style fish hook is also a good live bait hook due to its lighter weight. They are usually available in sizes 6 through 5/0.

Treble Hook - Treble hooks have three points on three shanks
and in the world of bass fishing are found on topwater lures, hard
jerkbaits, crankbaits and topwaters like Zara Spooks.

Treble hook sizes on such lures are usually 1 to 2/0.

Kahle Hook - A unique hook that has an elongated wide gap that
places the hook point farther back in the bass' mouth. These are
available with a straight and upturned eyes. As for sizes, when fishing
for smallmouth use sizes 2 and 1. For largemouth use 1/0, 2/0 and 3/0.

I use these exclusively for shiner fishing. If carefully watched
you will not have any gut hooked bass. There is no need to let the
bass "run" after taking the bait. As soon as you feel the strike set
the hook. Nine times out of ten you will hook the bass in the lip.

Siwash Hook - A very hard hook designed primarily for
commercial fishing for large fish with tough mouths. It has a
substantial round bend and long point.

"Trailer hooks" used with spinnerbaits and buzzbaits are in effect Siwash hooks.

Worm Hook - The "worm" hook is really a hook for "soft plastic" lures of all kinds. They are available in many shapes and sizes
and are designed for durability and deep penetration. The one shown at
right is used for Texas rigging baits. Most are "wide gap" models and
most often have offset shanks.